Assessing Parent Knowledge and Use of Protective Behaviors Protecting Their Children from Child Sexual Abuse
Open Access
Author:
Melchior, Mia
Area of Honors:
Human Development and Family Studies
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Kate Guastaferro, Thesis Supervisor Alyssa Ann Gamaldo, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Child Sexual Abuse Parent-Based Prevention
Abstract:
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a subtype of child maltreatment that is experienced by children of all ages, ethnicities, and genders. National prevalence estimates indicate that roughly 63,000 cases of CSA occur every year. CSA has been linked to adverse psychological, behavioral, and physical health outcomes, in addition to intergenerational effects. Primary methods of CSA prevention have focused on both the school and community setting. A lack of prevention research has focused on parents and their ability to better protect their child. This paper evaluated the program Smart Parents – Safe and Healthy Kids, a parent-focused prevention program, (SPSHK) and its tools of measurement like the Assessment of SmartParents’ Knowledge (ASK) and the Parental Use of Behavioral Strategies Interview (PUBSI). The ASK Survey evaluated knowledge at three varying timepoints during the implementation of SPSHK and the PUBSI was a post follow-up interview after receiving the program. Through the evaluation of two participants, who vary in risk status, we aimed to gain knowledge on how to make better use the PUBSI and make it as effective as possible. Suggestions like reducing the use of Likert-scale questions rephrasing a few of the questions can be made after analyzing the responses to the measures. The ultimate goal is to use the gained information from this paper to create a universal stand-alone option of SPSHK, which will serve everyday parents and reduce the prevalence of CSA.
